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All images on this blog are protected by copyright. Please inquire before using the images for any purpose. For information about purchasing original or giclee prints please contact me: janewingfield@gmail.com

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Poor People's Campaign 2018

I went down to Capitol Campus today to catch the tail end of the Vietnam Vets / Legacy Vets Memorial Day Ride but I was too late. Instead I happened upon the beginning of the weekly rally for the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, a 50 year renewal of the campaign started by Martin Luther King before he was assassinated. Monday's rally is the third of six weekly demonstrations at the State Capitol. The theme was The War Economy: Militarism and the Proliferation of Gun Violence.

Veterans for Peace were out
in full force, wearing peace dove helmets on t-shirts and flags.
Representatives from several groups spoke including clergy from various
faiths.

People waited in the wings
for their turn to speak or just to listen and support. The Raging Grannies sat
waiting patiently for their turn to speak their minds in song.

The Raging Grannies promoting social justice

Since I was prepared for a totally different scenario of veterans and motorcycles, I was surprised and intrigued at the demonstration. It was deja vu back to the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the late 60's when the campaign was first started.

This excerpt of one King's last Sunday sermon sums up the yet to be fulfilled cause:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But if a man doesn’t have a job or an income, he has neither life nor liberty nor the possibility for the pursuit of happiness. He merely exists … We are coming to ask America to be true to the huge promissory note that is signed years ago. And we are coming to engage in dramatic non-violent action, to call attention to the gulf between promise and fulfillment; to make the invisible visible." - Martin Luther King

The Poor People's Campaign will continue for four more weeks with the following themes:

Week 4 (June 3-9): The Right to Health and a Healthy Planet: Ecological Devastation and Health Care

2 comments:

nice sketches. i am from MN where the national veterans for peace conference is being held in St. Paul this year. I'd like to share your sketches with some of the vetsfor info about the conference go to VeteransforPeace.org